Green v. Scully

United States District Court for the Southern District of New York · Criminal Law

Criminal LawHabeas CorpusTrial TranscriptIneffective Assistance of Appellate Counsel28 U.S.C. § 2254missing transcriptadequate alternativecharging conference

Facts

Wayne Green was convicted in Westchester County Court of burglary in the second degree as a persistent felony offender and sentenced to fifteen years to life on May 12, 1986. He claimed habeas relief was warranted because the trial transcript was unavailable and his appellate trial counsel failed to obtain a newly prepared transcript if the court reporter's notes still existed. A reconstruction hearing was held on September 21, 1989 using detailed notes kept by the trial judge. Green argued that the missing transcript prevented effective presentation of issues concerning the charging conference, a missing witness charge, and a lesser included offense instruction.

Issue

Whether the unavailability of the trial transcript, together with appellate counsel's alleged failure to pursue a substitute transcript, deprived petitioner of a constitutionally adequate appeal so as to justify federal habeas relief. The court also considered whether the asserted ineffective assistance claim could support relief.

Rule

State courts are not constitutionally required to provide trial transcripts so long as an adequate alternative is offered that permits relevant appellate points to be argued. Habeas relief is not warranted where the omitted material concerns matters not of federal constitutional dimension and not going to guilt or innocence, and where the ineffective assistance claim was not raised in state court as required by 28 U.S.C. § 2254(b).

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One of 10 multiple-choice questions for this case. Pick an answer to see why.

In Cleveland, Omar Vega was convicted in state court of residential theft. On appeal, part of the trial transcript covering a pre-charge discussion could not be produced, but the trial judge's detailed bench notes and a reconstruction hearing supplied a record that allowed counsel to present every issue Omar identified.

On federal habeas, which is the strongest argument for denying relief?

Explanation. The governing rule is that a state need not provide a verbatim transcript if an adequate substitute allows the petitioner to argue the relevant appellate issues. The majority rejected habeas relief where reconstruction materials and notes were sufficient for appellate presentation. The other choices state broader rules the opinion did not adopt. (Derived from Green v. Scully (n.d.).)